Ugh, easy there, Yoda.
Just seeing his face makes me happier than I can remember being in years. I wasn’t a miserable human at all. I had fun and was still able to enjoy myself, but there were days that sadness absolutely consumed me, and my every waking thought.
He leans in closer to the person he’s talking to, I’m assuming to hear them better then he tosses his head back laughing. He really is a beautiful man.
He must sense my presence the way I can his, because he begins to scan the room and quickly settles his eyes on my face. The room disappears around us, and all I can see is him.
His mouth turns up in a grin and he extends his hand out to me, beckoning me to come to him, and I do without question, but by the time I reach him, the grin is replaced with a somberness.
“Hi,” I say to him as I slide my hand into his. “You okay?”
“Hello, beautiful. I’m fine.” He pulls me in for a kiss. “Did you find the place okay? Liv with you?”
“Yes and yes. She went to get a drink.” I lean against the wall next to him, shifting a bit on my heels. I really should have worn flats.
“You look incredible,” he tells me, without really looking at me. He’s rigid and stiff, not like the man I saw from across the room thirty seconds ago.
“Thank you,” I say, smoothing my hand over the flowy black dress I chose for tonight. “I have a question, actually. About Caleb.”
“Okay, that’s pretty ominous. Go for it.”
“Has he always been the life of the party like this? I’ve never seen so many people in one place for one person unless it was like a concert or something.”
“Caleb likes to surround himself with a lot of people. He always has. He didn’t have the best upbringing, so he’s overcompensating now, I think.”
“That’s really sad, actually. I think he and Liv have a bit of history, but she’s very unwilling to share with me anything about it. Do you know anything?”
“I don’t. All I know is that when he found out you were bringing her, he had a pretty big, weird reaction to it.”
“And you didn’t ask?”
“Sure I did, but he didn’t go into details. Caleb gets around so I’m sure he fucked her once or twice and now it’s awkward.”
“Hmm. I would think she’d tell me if it were that simple.”
“Nothing, no matter how it seems, is ever simple, Sawyer.” He kisses my temple. “Have a seat. I’ll go get you a drink.”
He leaves me standing there with the weight of his words on my shoulder. Nothing is ever simple. That was laced with meaning, even if he didn’t mean for it to be. I don’t understand the heaviness I’ve felt around him this week. He’s been around and present, sure, but there’s this extra layer of... something.
I’m an empath. I always have been. I feel what others feel, be it good or bad, and there is a layer of stress radiating off of him that is so thick it’s nearly suffocating.
“There you are,” Liv says, plopping down next to me with a vodka tonic in her hand. “This place is insanely packed. Over Caleb? I don’t get it.”
“What is your deal with him, Liv? I’ve never seen you this way over someone before.”
“Caleb and I have a history I really don’t like rehashing.” She takes a sip of her drink then changes the subject. “Why are you over here all alone? Where’s boy toy?”
“He went to the bar to get me a drink. He seems off tonight. I mean, he didn’t at first but once he realized I was here, his mood altered just a hair.”
“Trouble in paradise?”
“I don’t know why there would be. Nothing has happened and as far as I’ve been concerned, things have been incredible for us since Napa.”
“Have you asked him?”
“What do you think? Of course, I have. He keeps telling me everything is fine and he is fine. Maybe I’m just paranoid because I’m finally feeling... relaxed, and there are more good days than bad ones.”
“You tend to do that, babe. You have to accept that good things are happening in your life now and stop overthinking. That’s a one-way ticket to killing a potential buzz, and if you expect me to get up there tonight and shake my ass with you, I’ll need that buzz. So will you.”
“Speaking of a buzz... keep drinking,” I whisper in her ear then stand up. “Hi, Caleb! Happy Birthday!”
“Thanks, darlin,” he replies and gives me a hug. “I’m glad you came.” I move back to my seat and his eyes settle on Olivia. “Hi, Olivia. It’s good to see you outside of the school.”
She plasters on a smile and sweeps her eyes up to him. “I wanted to spend the evening with my friend and enjoy some drinks. It was the perfect excuse. Your birthday is an afterthought.”
I roll my lips together and my eyes go wide. Oh shit. The hostility is real.
“Damn, is that still how it is?” He tilts his head and stares at her. The sexual tension between them is so thick even I feel it. I’ve never seen them together before, so I had no idea it even existed.
“That’s how it will always be, Caleb. You know that.”
“Doesn’t have to be. We had fun once upon a time.”
“Once being the key word,” she snaps.
“Not by my choice.” He takes a sip of the amber liquid in the glass he’s holding. “Let me buy you a drink.”
“I’ve got one here. Thanks,” she says, holding her glass up.
He chuckles and glances down at me. “Tell her I’m not a bad guy, will ya?”
Isaac appears behind him then steps around so he can sit beside me, but he doesn’t say a word, only passes me a drink.
“Thank you,” I tell him before turning back to Caleb. “Well, you
